Amazing And Interesting Facts About HAL Tejas

In July 2016, two HAL Tejas fighter jets were inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) squadron, known as the 'Flying Daggers 45'. The aircraft was designed by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

IAF chief Arup Raha had his first flight in Tejas before being inducted into the Air Force. After flying the indigenously designed and produced fighter jet, he called it a good aircraft for IAF operations.

For the first two years, the Flying Daggers 45 will be based in Bangalore. After that, they will be moved to Sulur in Tamil Nadu.

In 1984, Indian government started planning to kick-start the process to build an indigenous aircraft. For development purpose, Aeronautical Development Agency was set up by the government.

At first, the aircraft was called LCA ( Light Combat Aircraft). In 2001, the LCA made its first flight.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee named the aircraft ‘Tejas' and in Sanskrit, Tejas means ‘radiance.'

It is a single-seat, single-jet engine, multi-role lightweight supersonic fighter jet. The powerplant used in this aircraft is General Electric F404-GE-F2J3 turbofan engines with afterburn.

The aircraft can fly at a speed of Mach 1.8 (2,205 km/h) and at a maximum altitude of 15,200m. The range of the aircraft is 3,000 km and weighs approximately 5,450 kg.

For ease handling by the pilot, Tejas is equipped with a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire flight control system. This system is integrated to enhance manoeuvrability.

Earlier in 2016, Tejas participated in its first foreign show at Bahrain International Airshow, where it was compared with JF-17 Thunder - a fighter jet produced by Pakistan with the help of China.

After comparing both the aircraft, a source said, "Tejas is the better one since it is mostly made of the composite which makes it light and very agile. It also comes with smart ammunitions and bombs which help it to hit targets in a precise manner."